The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Internal combustion engines combust an air and fuel mixture within cylinders to drive pistons, which produces drive torque. Air flow into gasoline engines is regulated via a throttle. More specifically, the throttle adjusts throttle area, which increases or decreases air flow into the engine. As the throttle area increases, the air flow into the engine increases. A fuel control system adjusts the rate that fuel is injected to provide a desired air/fuel mixture to the cylinders. Increasing the amount of air and fuel provided to the cylinders increases the torque output of the engine.
The fuel that is combusted by the engine is stored in a fuel tank. A low pressure pump draws fuel from the fuel tank. The low pressure pump pressurizes the fuel and supplies low pressure fuel to a high pressure pump. The high pressure pump further pressurizes the fuel and supplies the pressurized fuel to one or more fuel injectors.
An engine control module (ECM) controls the amount and timing of fuel injection, torque output by the engine, and other parameters. The ECM may also diagnose faults in one or more components of the vehicle. These faults may be used to, for example, notify a driver to seek service and aid a service technician in servicing the vehicle.